Brazil beat Mexico on penalty kicks, 4-1, to advance to the Olympic men’s soccer final after a foul-filled semifinal that featured 10 yellow cards but no goals.
Dani Alves, Gabriel Martinelli, Bruno Guimaraes and Reinier converted their kicks in the shootout for Brazil after their goalkeeper, Santos, stopped Mexico’s first penalty and then watched its second attempt hit the post and bounce away.
Brazil will face the tournament favorite, Spain, in Saturday’s gold medal match in Yokohama. Spain beat host Japan on a curling shot by Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio deep into extra time.
Spain’s winner came with five minutes left in the second extra-time period, when Asensio, who had entered the match as a substitute, found a few yards of space in Japan’s penalty area and curled in a left-footed shot inside the far post.
Spain’s trip to the final is its first since 2000, when it won the silver medal in Sydney. It last won the Olympic tournament in 1992, on home soil in Barcelona.
The Brazil-Mexico semifinal at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium was a rematch of the 2012 Olympic final, and featured the past two men’s soccer champions. Mexico beat Brazil at Wembley in 2012, and Brazil claimed its first men’s title on home soil in 2016.
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